And singer Boy George was among the stars who wished him a happy birthday as the Burntwood OAP turned 91.

The viral reaction came when Fred became the public face of a computer group run by St Giles Hospice, based at Whittington, near Lichfield.

The hospice's community engagement manager Ian Leech said: “Fred’s a fantastic example of someone who is still learning in their tenth decade so it seems a brilliant opportunity to show that on social media.

“We expected maybe a hundred likes on Facebook and some retweets but we really didn’t expect the response we got!

“It’s been absolutely wonderful to see such an amazing wave of lovely messages, pictures and videos from across the internet.”

Twitter analytics showed that Fred’s picture reached more than five million people.

On Facebook, it was liked 2700 times and shared more than 2000 times.

Radio presenter Janice Long and singer Barbara Dickinson were among the other celebrities to offer birthday greetings.

Fred’s technology journey started when a family member bought him a tablet and he joined the computer group to get online.